The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors and pertains, more specifically, to an electrical connector for providing a connection, in the field, between high voltage shielded electrical cables.
In recent years concern for maintaining the natural environment has caused electric utility companies to use underground installations instead of above ground high tension wires for power distribution. To facilitate the construction and installation of such underground power distribution systems it often becomes necessary to interconnect, in the field, the high voltage shielded electrical cables used in these installations. Various types of connectors have been developed for use in such systems, each attempting to reduce the number of components and the time required to make a satisfactory connection.
One such connector is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,084 and includes an elastomeric housing slidably fitted over the joined ends of a pair of high voltage cables. This connector further includes a pair of so-called adaptor tubes or sleeves positioned respectively over the insulating jacket on each cable and received within the opposed end positions of the housing. The adaptor sleeves are used to accommodate varying insulation diameters thus permitting the connector to be used with varying sized cables utilizing a minimum number of component connector parts. The connector further includes a pair of rings affixed to the insulating jacket of the cable at the terminus of the insulating jacket for restraining the adaptor sleeves against slidable movement toward the cable ends when the elastomeric housing is slidably fitted thereover, and further includes a separate spring member in engagement between the crimp barrel joining the cable ends and the interior of the elastomeric housing for the purpose of conveying heat away from the crimp barrel into and through the elastomeric housing.
In an attempt to still further reduce the number of parts in such connectors, it has been proposed to threadedly mount the restraining rings on or near the opposed ends of the crimp barrel and utilize such rings for conveying heat away from the crimp barrel. An example of this connector arrangement is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,291. However, even with the latter construction it has been found that when the barrel is joined to the two cable cores as by compression crimping, for example, it is possible to distort the screw threads on the ends of the barrel sufficient to prevent complete displacement of the threadedly mounted rings and produce a gap between the rings and the termini of the adaptor sleeves. This, in turn, permits undesirable movement of the adaptor sleeves toward the cable core termini.
In still another known connector arrangement as described for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,935, a pair of separate spring packets are disposed respectively on the cable cores between the insulating jackets thereof and the crimp barrel joining the cable cores and which packets might conceivably convey heat away from the juncture of the cable cores to and through the connector housing. However, such ability to transfer heat is limited by the springy nature of the packet and in any event, such means would be ineffective to sufficiently restrain axial movement of any adaptor sleeves used in conjunction with this form of connector.